The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has called on the Police Administration to investigate death threats on Manasseh Azure Awuni, a Freelance Journalist and others in the course of lawful duties.
The Association is also calling on the Police to provide adequate security to the Freelance Journalist and other Journalists across the country who have received death threats, to calm the nerves of media practitioners in the country and foreigners resident in the country about their safety and security.
The GJA calls on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, to condemn the death threats against Journalists and give a firm assurance on the safety and security of journalists.
“We also call on the National Peace Council, political parties, civil society organisations, religious organisations and all well-meaning Ghanaians to roundly condemn the death threats issued against Manasseh and other journalists in the country.”
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Kofi Yeboah, the General Secretary of GJA, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The Association said it received disturbing reports of death threats issued against the Freelance Investigative Journalist, from someone believed to be a political fanatic aggrieved by an opinion piece written by the award-winning journalist on the outcome of the 2020 elections.
“We have also received similar reports of death threats against other journalists across the country by politically-connected persons,” it said.
“This is the latest of a series of death threats issued against Manasseh in the past few years. But the venom in the latest death notice served on him via email is poisonous enough to snuff life, and for which reason the GJA wishes to sound the alarm bell for all to respond.”
“The GJA condemns such barbaric contemplation, machination, orchestration, plot and scheme, whether individually inspired or collectively conspired, to kill a journalist for discharging a lawful mandate guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. “
It said given the reference to the gruesome murder of Ahmed Suale made by the threator to inform Manasseh about the fate that awaited him anytime he picked his pen to write, the barbaric act of intent must be put to death by getting to the bottom of it and dealing with the culprit decisively.
“We also urge our media partners, both national and international, including the International Federation of Journalists , the Federation of African Journalists and Rapporteur San Frontier (Reporters Without Borders) to condemn the death threats against Journalists in Ghana.”
The statement said it was time “to halt the Pall Bearers from carrying the casket of free speech and press freedom to the graveyard,” while it attempted to resurrect same from death.
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